Mutual Aid Association

With three Train Coins in hand, Lu Xingyuan was in high spirits.

This chick was pretty capable. This was already the fifth Train Coin he'd gotten from her. Even counting the Train Coins he'd obtained from opening crates along the way, he only had three.

Lucky Koi Girl—terrifying indeed!

"Selling fruit, selling fruit! Slightly rotten fruit, guaranteed to be juicy! Special price right now: one Train Coin for two baskets! DM me if you want some!"

Gu Wanqing: "??? Screw your grandpa!"

Lu Xingyuan: "I'll thank you on my grandpa's behalf!"

Before long, Lu Xingyuan had sold off most of the rotten fruit in his hands.

By the end, he was even offering three baskets of rotten fruit for one Train Coin.

There was no helping it. This stuff couldn't be stored for long. If he didn't sell it quickly, he wouldn't be able to trade it for even a single Train Coin later.

At present, he had amassed fifteen Train Coins. That was no small fortune.

"Now I need to gather the upgrade materials."

The materials required to upgrade a train from Level 2 to Level 3 were as follows:

Wood ×1000 units

Metal ×1000 units

Glass ×200 units

Rubber ×100 units

Simple Circuit Boards ×50 sets

First, the required amounts of wood, metal, and glass had all doubled.

Then, rubber and simple circuit boards had been added as additional requirements.

The first three were manageable. He had quite a bit in stock.

But he had yet to collect even a single piece of rubber or a simple circuit board.

It seemed reaching Level 3 wouldn't be so easy.

Just as he was about to lie down and rest, a friend request suddenly popped up.

[Train Conductor "Sun Yi" has requested to add you as a friend!]

He had assumed the other party wanted to buy fruit, but it turned out they had far grander ambitions.

"Hello, I am the vice president of the Mutual Aid Association. We sincerely invite you to join our organization and contribute your share to the continuation of human civilization."

The Mutual Aid Association?

Lu Xingyuan was slightly taken aback.

An organization had appeared so soon?

In truth, by the second day of the game, "banding together for warmth" had already become the consensus for many people.

But turning that consensus into a genuine organization was far from easy.

For this Mutual Aid Association to gather a team so quickly, they clearly had some ability.

As for being invited himself, Lu Xingyuan wasn't particularly surprised.

After all, he was the first Train Conductor to upgrade his train to Level 2.

After accepting the friend request, Sun Yi immediately sent another message.

"In this apocalypse, strong people like you are the hope of all survivors. Our Mutual Aid Association needs your strength to support this big family. One person's strength will eventually reach its limit, but the power of many can carry civilization forward. Please join us. Your abilities should not be yours alone; they should light the way for more people. Of course, the organization will never treat you unfairly."

Lu Xingyuan frowned slightly.

Why did those words sound so damn disgusting?

If you come across ads asking, "Are you a real person?" there is no need to respond. Simply close them. Never scan codes or send text messages!

"What does your Mutual Aid Association plan to do?"

"Our strategy is clear: concentrate resources, cultivate pioneers, and build combat strength. Let some Train Conductors grow strong first and establish order, then systematically bring along all survivors to achieve collective improvement."

"Who are those people?"

"Naturally, the lucky ones who have drawn powerful talents."

"In other words, joining you requires revealing my talent first?"

"We are one big family. Every member of the organization is family, and there naturally should be no secrets between family members."

"Then what is your president's talent?"

"Join us, and naturally, we'll tell you."

"Sorry, but I have no intention of joining you for now."

"Wait."

Inside a train speeding down the tracks, Sun Yi, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, did not end his conversation with Lu Xingyuan. Instead, he skillfully opened a chat window named "Pan Wei."

"In that case, there's no harm in telling him."

Pan Wei quickly replied.

"After all, he is the first Train Conductor to upgrade his train to Level 2. He has enough luck and strength. For someone like that, of course we should show sufficient sincerity."

"Fine."

Sun Yi appeared somewhat reluctant. In his eyes, Lu Xingyuan had merely gotten lucky. The president was the one with true strength.

"Everyone else is fighting tooth and nail to join the Mutual Aid Association, yet you keep making excuses..."

Sun Yi adjusted his glasses and snorted coldly.

"I hope you remember the president's kindness."

Yet the next second, his expression froze. The chat window with Lu Xingyuan clearly displayed a notification: "You have been blocked by the other party."

"This guy... blocked me?"

Sun Yi clenched his fists tightly. He had never expected this outcome. Lu Xingyuan truly didn't seem to hold their Mutual Aid Association in any regard.

Pan Wei: "Interesting."

Sun Yi: "President, I suggest we make Lu Xingyuan the first target of judgment for our Mutual Aid Association. Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, and save certain ill-intentioned people from looking down on our Mutual Aid Association!"

After yawning, Lu Xingyuan was about to lie down and rest when he received a private message from Gu Wanqing.

After their last trade, the two of them had added each other as friends.

"Damn! The chat channel is insanely lively! All the different factions are pulling out all the stops to recruit people! For Train Conductors with powerful talents, they're offering ridiculously generous terms! Unlimited food and water, high-quality meat, eggs, and milk, all train upgrade materials covered up to Level 5, plus free Train Coins every month—at least ten a month! The ordinary Train Conductors are practically dropping their jaws, feeling like they live in completely different worlds!"

Lu Xingyuan: "You believe that? It's nothing more than a publicity stunt."

"Really? Are you sure you're not just saying that out of spite because you didn't receive an invitation from them?"

Lu Xingyuan promptly screenshot the invitations he had received from the Mutual Aid Association, Iron Revival Association, Pure Mind Brotherhood, and other factions, then sent them over.

"Haters, say something! Who are you looking down on?"

Among those invitations was even one from the Heavenly Splendor Association.

The founder of the Heavenly Splendor Association was none other than Wang Tianhua, who had a grudge against him!

The man could set aside past grudges and lower himself to invite him, which was enough to prove just how sought-after Lu Xingyuan was!

"I think you're the one who hasn't received a single invitation from start to finish, right?"

Lu Xingyuan mocked her without mercy.

"Who said that? A faction did invite me, okay! They're not as terrible as you said!"

"Oh? Now I'm curious which blind faction would invite a little nobody like you!"